TriGirl

At the state fair the Marines have a booth where you can do chin ups on a bar to win prizes. 5 will get you a USMC lanyard, 10 will get the hat, and 20 will get the t-shirt. No cheating doing those Crossfit half chins. These are full up, full down. My dozen chinups got me the hat. My 20-something daughter, being a female, only had to "hang from the bar" for 60 seconds to get the t-shirt. . . Even the Marines are going double standard. Have you ever tried to hold that flexed arm hang? I know few men who can do it anywhere near as well as the women, though there still is the perception of ours being easier. The physical fitness tests have always been different. Over the years our PFT has been evolving to match, but we're not there yet. When I first came in, men ran three miles while women ran 1.5 (about 18 yrs ago we went to 3-mile run as well). We also standardized the sit-up portion across the board (same number, same amount of time, same points). The last thing to change is the "upper body" portion of the test. However, we're finally transitioning to pull-ups as well. Currently, a female Marine can do either the arm hang or pull-ups, but eventually the arm hang will be phased out.

Gotta confess, don't know about that one. Maybe we should ask him. I hope he DOES know that one! That's important. See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

My top three songs for running: Ruby Soho -- Rancid Indestructible -- Disturbed Dynamite -- Taio Cruz When any of those come up in the mix, my pace usually increases by at least 30 seconds/mile! And talk about a good CD to put on when you have a project? Rancid's "Out Come the Wolves" is one of my all-time favorites. Next thing I know, the whole house is clean! See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

What I AM tired of (and have had no patience from the beginning for) is the WAY in which the tabloids treated her and the whole process. As if it were some scandalous, deep dark secret that she was trying to keep, the hiding of which would ultimately undo our world as we know it. It is not, and she had every right to do this for herself (loved the Vanity Fair cover, BTW). Stealing billions of dollars, or letting a major safety/health hazard go unreported/uncorrected because it will make one person a ton of money? Yeah, that's a scandal worthy of this tone. ("[gasp], what an outrage!"). But this? Not even close. See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

Best aircraft the Marine Corps ever flew! Love watching those birds fly. See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

What difference? Good god, what a world. Not all gelatin is Jell-o! I was going to add, "but all Jell-o is gelatin," but then I remembered Jell-o pudding. So even that doesn't work. Unless you say all Jell-o gelatin is gelatin. See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

Parachutist Magazine is a production of USPA. Member services and the magazine work in the same building, so the magazine gets the stats each month directly from member services. I also do believe it is only dropzones who can look that up. See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

Interestingly, the character termed "The Ugly American" in the book is actually the example of how we should be acting in other countries. Too bad the phrase has been hijacked to describe the behavior the opposite of what the author illustrated. See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

Oh, damn! That's the email account I use for all my judging communications. That notice must be very new, since I was just using that account late last week. [sigh] Guess I'll have to figure out something else. See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

And here is a better photo of the AC. That's me posing at the nose.

Thanks for sharing! I know there's a few active members of DZ.com who have dived this beautiful plane.

Haha, you say "ready set go" and leave. They stay in the plane and exit 10 seconds later for a separate skydive. So, John, you want him to jump with all his friends? (Probably what they'd say after that! ) I liked Wendy's original idea. But to keep it from becoming what John suggests, make it a contest. Offer something cool to the ones who do make it into the star, and some kind of penalty for those who don't (last one to dock buys first round for those who made it in. Those who don't dock at all buy the second and third rounds for everyone who attempted). See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

Terminal entry into the Cave of Swallows please, I'm thinking an even heavier emphasis on wing suit BASE. That's the big question I get from first-time jumpers now, after they're told no, they may NOT video their own skydive ("I want to fly one of those squirrel suits off a cliff! Can I start training for that?") How long before they start coming to the DZ asking if they can do a wing suit tandem? See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

Thanks, Spot! Congratulations to those record setters. And best of luck to the next ones attempting to shatter them! See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

Agreed. Exactly. You could take any of the anecdotes people tell about weed causing laziness, insert the corresponding words for consuming alcohol, and it would read exactly the same. My friend divorced her first husband because he was lazy (and lied about it regularly). He'd quit his job, then spend his days lying around smoking weed (by himself or with friends) when she thought he'd gone to work. She wouldn't know he didn't have a job until the bills came due, and he didn't have a paycheck to contribute to their expenses (and hers wasn't sufficient by itself). Now, replace "smoking weed" with "getting drunk" or simply "drinking," and the story is just as valid. Yet, we don't outlaw alcohol because we blame it for this guy's laziness. We blame the lazy guy for wasting his time getting high all day (regardless of the intoxicant). Bottom line: either of these substances can be abused. And when made outside of regulations, both can be created (grown) with higher and more dangerous levels of the intoxicating elements. If you're worried about public safety, keep them both legal. Regulate the substances, and test regularly. Then tax the sales so we can pay for the oversight.

Unfortunately, they're getting a lot of money from the citizenry. People still getting paid by the central government of Syria, and the money is getting to the thugs by "taxes," or old-fashioned "re-appropriation." They're also stealing tons of equipment and weaponry -- some of it they use, some they sell. Finally, they've hijacked the financial sector of oil & gas export from the Kurdish regions. Bottom line: everything they get (on a grand scale), they've stolen. That would be nice, but those from whom the thugs are stealing are also getting killed if they resist. To answer the OP -- I don't know. Have no realistic idea. See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

Exactly. Like I said, we should have found other ways to hold him accountable to 1441. See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

IIRC - the war in Iraq was over Hussein's refusal to adhere to UN sanctions and of course, the issue of WMD's. 9/11 had nothing to do with it. ^^This.^^ UN Resolution 1441, which "ended" the first Gulf War, gave as a condition of Hussein getting to stay in power that he had to PROVE he destroyed his Chem Wpns and other WMD program. What about all those years (read the Doonesbury cartoons -- excellent perspective) that inspectors were kept from their mission, then ultimately kicked out of the country? Bush II campaigned on holding Hussein to the conditions of 1441, so we knew he had that mission in mind. However, just because it was justified (and anticipated), doesn't mean it was the right course of action. 9/11 happened, and we had something else to deal with. IMHO, the administration should have put the Iraq goal on a back burner and focused on one world crisis at a time. It could have been addressed (maybe not solved, but addressed) by other means until a later time. See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

Well, if he wants to be treated like a "vehicle," he should act like one! And incidentally, drivers who cut off other drivers, without signalling, would draw the "beeps" just the same. So in a way, you did treat him like he was another "vehicle."

Speaking of madness... http://www.dailycomet.com/article/20150506/articles/150509726 The contradictory items in this amendment, from the same lawmaker (from the article): and So, the same lawmaker wanted to outlaw the termination of a pregnancy based on gender, but insists the woman should be informed of the gender if she doesn't already know, before the pregnancy can be terminated. In my opinion, the only reason to insist the woman be informed of the gender of the fetus is to give the provider the grounds to deny terminating the pregnancy, claiming the request to terminate was due to gender. Let's not even mention: So, they're happening in Asian nations, and according to the media, they have happened somewhere in the U.S. Yeah, we'd better make a law against it right away!!! See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

I asked the same question of my Bahraini rental agent -- she said it was because when the fabric gets wet (from sweating so much under 120 degrees), black is the color least likely to become see-through. Then again, all the men were wearing white, so I never understood why it was okay to possibly see through their outer clothes. White is a cooler color to wear, so that does make sense to use white. But, her explanation of why she wore a black abaya also seemed reasonable. And yes, it was also of a very light, breezy, breathable fabric. Guess it could be of a much thinner fabric than the men's garments, because again, even when the black garment gets wet, you couldn't see the clothes worn underneath. (note: the women wore very fashionable clothes under their abayas, while the men wore undershirts and shorts. Again, just a personal preference, I guess!) I will also add, BTW, that both men and women there wore an over-garment, and a head covering of some sort. They seemed equivalent. The more modern and younger men wore ball caps, and their female counterparts often went without anything covering their hair. My local friends explained that they didn't want to mess up their hairstyles (though it was also explained that everyone respected each others' personal interpretations of "modest dress"). See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

Yes, a sad day indeed. However, I agree with what everyone has written already! Always wished I could have had the opportunity to hear him live. See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

Unfortunately, yes, it's what I do for a living now (again). Gotta keep up on the news, especially as it pertains to the Marine Corps. On the one hand, my job consists each morning of settling down to read the news over my cup of coffee. On the other, well, you see what kind of news I end p having to read! See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

Woo hoo! That has to be the understatement of the year. Welcome to the family! See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

Here's another option: consider taking a canopy course. You'll do 3-5 jumps, with skills to practice on each one, and (usually) video debrief. The jumps are hop & pops, so it isn't too tiring, but you're still learning something on each jump. Get your canopy skills signed off (you don't have to wait until you're ready to qualify for your B license to get the card signed). Great coaching, small class, and several jumps in a day. IIRC, many are also scheduled on days other than weekends, so the DZ is less busy. Since you say you don't have to worry about work right now, this seems like a good fit for one of those jump days. Take a course on Friday, then stay the rest of the weekend to jump with other coaches/organizers. With only 3-5 jumps each day, you could easily finish off your A-license requirements over that weekend, while still getting some good learning points down AND meeting some new people.